October 24, 2009

Octavius waited a long time to find a forever family of his own. We are very thankful to his foster family for making sure he was safe and loved while waiting. As you can see they did a great job helping him feel comfortable with dogs and kids, so he fit right in with his new family. We are also very thankful to his new forever family. What a joy it is to receive these photos showing everyone in the family getting along so well.

October 15, 2009

National Feral Cat Day is a day set aside by Alley Cat Allies to help raise awareness and protect feral cats. What is a feral cat? A feral cat is NOT a unique breed of cat. A feral cat is simply a cat who has not had the benefit of human socialization as a youngster. Hence, they fear humans and are generally happier living outdoors away from humans. The best things we can do for feral cats are as follows: spay/neuter them in order to prevent a next generation and provide food and shelter for them in the place they know as home.

The Medfield Animal Shelter will join groups nationwide to mark National Feral Cat Day. On Monday, October 19th, working with volunteer trappers and the S.T.O.P. (Stop The Overpopulation of Pets) Clinic, we will spay/neuter approximately 30 feral cats. Once the cats recover from their surgery, they will be returned "home" where dedicated caregivers will continue to provide food and shelter for them.

This is a photo of Ginger. She is a feral cat who has survived for years with no human contact. Caregivers have provided food and shelter for her but that was all. Suddenly she has decided she wants to be friendly instead of feral. It happens. But the outdoors will probably always be her home. We believe trap, neuter, return is the best method of population control for feral cats. If you are interested in learning more about what you can do to help feral cats in your neighborhood, please email medfieldcatlover@aol.com.

October 14, 2009

We are so grateful for all the foster families who are part of the Medfield Animal Shelter. They make a world of difference. As this precious kitten and so many others can attest, getting to sleep in the arms of someone who loves you is so much more fun than sleeping alone at the shelter.

October 12, 2009

It didn't take long to fall in love with Dexter, our black mini-dachshund. After a few days of recovering from surgery and sleeping a lot, he woke up. He has been playful and energetic ever since. We put the bed you gave us in the corner of our bedroom and added a blue fleece cover and his own yellow fleece. He usually takes a running start from the bedroom door and leaps into his bed diving expertly under the covers. You can't tell that he's in there.

Although our family is just my husband and I, Dexter has met plenty of friends, Johnny who was adopted as an abandoned dog from Puerto Rico and Tessie, my daughter's energetic black lab. Dexter holds his own with all other dogs and he's polite and interested.

Dexter loves going for walks in the neighborhood. Eventually he will be able to run around his yard, but right now he slips easily between the verticals of our new fence. (we're working on fattening him up a bit, but that won't do the job. He is dedicated to escape and exploration.We're checking out ways to make the yard Dexter-safe.)

He has figured out how to get on the living room couch. He takes a running jump onto the armchair nearby and, like a cat, he scales and leaps over the arms of the furniture to attain his comfy perch. Sometimes he falls asleep on the arm of the couch. When we both go out, he happily sleeps in his crate in the living room. We've padded it with more fleece blankets and covered most of it with a tablecloth, so he feels safe in his dog-cave.

Most of all Dexter loves to be held and talked to. He follows us from room to room and wants to be part of things. And he certainly is an important part of our family. Thanks for finding us a wonderful dog.

We'll send a picture as soon as we can. If you receive a picture of a black blur on-line, you'll know that it's the little guy who doesn't like to sit still.

October 11, 2009

We love to write about the good things happening at the shelter, but there are also many sad events that keep the shelter full even during weeks when we have many adopters taking home new pets.

Yesterday we volunteered to take in these two kittens who had been rescued by Needham Animal Control. The kittens were found in a box in the middle of a road. There were two boxes. People who lived near where the boxes were found thought someone had thrown their trash in the road. The boxes first appeared around dusk this past week on a cold, rainy night. They were still there at 8:00 am the following morning. Thankfully someone went to move what they thought were empty boxes out of the middle of the road. These two innocent and adorable kittens were found soaking wet and shaking with fear inside one of the boxes. The other box had been torn apart and was empty. We fear that perhaps the kittens' mother had been in that box. How could anyone do something so cruel? Needham Animal Control and kind-hearted people who live in the area where the kittens were found are keeping watch to see if mom or whoever was in the other box comes around. We hate to think that we live among people who could do something so mean. We are however encouraged by the efforts of the rescuers and Needham Animal Control in saving these precious little girls. They are now in a foster home where they are getting some intensive tender loving care. We hope these precious little ones will completely forget about the cruelty they experienced and only remember all the love they are now receiving in their foster home. We are eager to find these friendly little babies a special and very loving forever home.

October 10, 2009

Today was another great adoption day with four kitties and a guinea pig all going to new homes! The lucky pets that were adopted are: Bruschi, Nadia, Tiger & Boots (they were adopted together) and Lexi. Bruschi and Nadia were cared for by two of our wonderful foster families, and one of the foster families has already stepped up to help with some newly rescued kittens.

It takes a team of very dedicated volunteers to make these adoptions happen. Our supporters and Facebook friends who spread the word about the pets also play a big part. So, thanks everyone!

October 9, 2009

As of 6:30 pm today we have no dogs at the shelter and our volunteers are sighing a collective sigh of relief as a very busy few weeks of dog care comes to a brief end. We placed Annabelle, Dexter, Cinna, Strait, Coco, Lydia, Fannie and Liza in new homes between last Friday and this Friday. We are hoping for a big cat adoption weekend this weekend as there are still many pets in need and we will quickly be refilling the spots now open thanks to so many dogs being adopted. Here are a few of the lucky dogs now in new homes courtesy of Ty Bellitti, a wonderful photographer who came to the shelter yesterday to take photos of the pets available for adoption..

October 3, 2009

Finn's family has been volunteering at the shelter for a long time. After taking him home for "just one night" they decided they couldn't part with him and joined the ranks of foster failures. If ever a dog has left the life of shelter dog behind, it is this cutie. His family sent these cute photos of him with this note:

Finn loves his new family, his canine older sister, swimming in the pool (and using the pool float) and his new life of being a beloved member of our family.

October 2, 2009

Marie was a very senior Dachshund brought to our shelter last fall. This little old girl broke our hearts since we felt she needed and deserved to be in a home. Fortunately our friends at Coast to Coast Dachshund Rescue stepped right in and found her a wonderful foster home. Her foster mom was smitten with her and became a foster failure (that's what we call it when the foster can't part with a pet and adopts him/her). Here's Marie modelling at a fundraiser for the Edward Gorey House this past August.